It took a few years to tweak and improve upon the very first laundry soap as found ALL over the web {you know, the one involving baking soda, washing soda, borax, and Fels-Naptha}, and those adjustments resulted in my original laundry soap recipe. Now it’s been three more years since that original recipe and, after lots of work, I’ve improved even more upon the recipe. And this resulting DIY laundry soap recipe is the ULTIMATE laundry soap recipe!
In this new and improved laundry soap recipe, I’ve omitted the baking soda. Why? Because, as I’ve learned more about baking soda throughout the years, I’ve discovered that it really doesn’t do anything more than the washing soda does. And the washing soda does better than the baking soda does {at least in the realm of clothes washing}.
I’ve also started adding a new ingredient–citric acid {or Lemi Shine}. When I was using my old recipe {which worked awesome as many of my readers can attest}, it did have a slight problem with continual use. White clothes {especially those heavily used} started getting a bit on the dingy side {not terribly, but it was enough that both my readers and I noticed it after time}. With the added citric acid, this is no longer a problem! Or at least it takes longer to start getting dingy {if this happens to me, I’ll probably just do a load of all white clothes with citric acid and bluing once ever few years}.
Some of you {newbies especially} might be wondering why I so proudly emphasize the lack of Fels-Naptha and borax in my recipe. Well, as my previous laundry soap recipe elaborates, both of these ingredients really are NOT the healthiest {per the cleaning guide on EWG.org, which is the leader on digging into everyday products that people use to determine how healthy they are}.
When making this recipe, it REALLY helps to have a food processor with a grater attachment. Otherwise, you’re grating forever with a manual cheese grater and you can’t really achieve a good, fine, powdery consistency.
For storage, keep the powder in an airtight container. Nowadays, I store my laundry soap in a big 2-gallon jar and make this recipe times 7 to fill it up {I wait until it’s almost totally empty then just go at making the recipe, exactly as it is written below, 7 times in a row; takes me only about 30 minutes to do and lasts around 6 months}. I do still use my handy Joseph-Joseph magnetic measuring spoon, which, conveniently, “sticks” nicely to the lid of my jar. And, to make the laundry soap easy for visiting guests to use, I added a chalkboard label with instructions to the lid.
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE
Servings 22 regular loads
Ingredients
- 1 5- oz.
bar Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap {any variety} - 1 c.
washing soda - 1/4 c.
Epsom salt - 2 tbsp.
citric acid or Lemi Shine
Instructions
Using the cheese grater attachment on a food processor, insert the bar of soap and shred. Dump the shredded soap into a bowl then swap the grater attachment for the regular blade in the food processor.
Return the shredded soap to the pitcher of the food processor. Add the washing soda, Epsom salt, and citric acid.
Top with the lid and pulse until the mixture is all powdery and well mixed.
Pour into an airtight storage container.
To use, add 1 tablespoon to a regular size load of laundry.
I really don’t like the liquid version of this recipe. It’s easier to make and use the powdered version, plus it also does a better job. And, as a powdered version, works well in both regular and front-loading {High Efficiency/HE} machines, whether you have a septic tank {as we do} or not.
But if you absolutely must have LIQUID laundry soap, here’s that recipe. Please note that the citric acid is NOT mixed in with the liquid {rather, it is added directly to the load of laundry along with the laundry soap}. This is because the citric acid, when mixed with water and the washing soda, works at neutralizing some if not all of the washing soda {causes a chemical reaction with turns the washing soda into basically just more water, rendering it useless}.
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE
Servings 22 regular loads
Ingredients
- 1 5- oz.
bar Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap {any variety} - 1 gal. purified water
- 1 c.
washing soda - 1/4 c.
Epsom salt - 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner {optional}
- PLUS 1/4 tsp.
citric acid or Lemi Shine per regular load of laundry
Instructions
Grate the bar of soap; set aside.
Bring the water to a hard rolling boil.
Pour the water, grated soap, washing soda, Epsom salt, and Thieves cleaner into a large heat-resistant container. Stir until everything is mixed and the soap and powders have dissolved.
Allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Once cool, an egg drop soup consistency will result.
To use, add 3/4 cup to a regular size load of laundry, plus add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid.
If you’d like more laundry tips, check out the Laundry Tips section of my old laundry soap recipe post here. And, if you’d like a recipe to use with cloth diapers, I still stand by Homemade Cloth Diaper Detergent {other that I might use all washing soda instead of the baking soda}.
